Middlesex Beekeepers’ Association Offers Tips for Residents on How to Handle Honeybee Swarms

The Middlesex County Beekeepers’ Association, Inc. would like to remind residents of Middlesex County and elsewhere how to identify a honeybee swarm and the resources available for safe and proper removal.

Honeybees usually swarm high off the ground, like in a tree branch. Honeybee swarms are not inherently dangerous and should NOT be killed. A local beekeeper would be happy to find them a new home!

Honeybees often swarm in Middlesex County in May and June. A swarm is a large group of honeybees resting together, usually on a tree branch or somewhere off the ground. This is the natural process of leaving an established hive for the purpose of starting a new one.

Swarms can be easily retrieved by trained beekeepers who know how to both care for the bees and protect the safety of the community.

If you see a swarm, please contact the Middlesex County Beekeepers’ Association Swarm Coordinator Alexandra Bartsch by phone 781-630-1129 or email her at albartsch@rcn.com.

A beekeeper can be on scene usually within one hour to retrieve the swarm, and remove it from your property.

“Honeybees are vital for our ecosystem and they have been in constant danger for many years from pesticides and other sources,” Bartsch said. “A beekeeper would be more than happy to find a new home for our little, honey-making friends.”

For more information on identifying honeybees and honeybee swarms, visit the Middlesex County Beekepers’ Association website, which also contains vital information and resources on how to differentiate between a honeybee swarm and wasps and more dangerous inspects.

BOSTON – A bill that would allow police departments in Middlesex County to place pre-arraignment detainees in a regional lockup facility operated by the Middlesex Sheriff’s Office was reported out favorably by the Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security last week. The bill was filed by State Senator Ken Donnelly (D – Arlington) and has been supported by Sheriff Peter J. Koutoujian and the Middlesex County Chiefs of Police Association.

The bill, An Act establishing regional lockup facilities, now moves to the Senate Committee on Ways and Means for review.

“I would like to thank Senator Donnelly, our law enforcement colleagues who advocated for this legislation, and the committee for advancing it to the crucial next stage,” Sheriff Koutoujian said. “We believe a regional lockup facility would bring significant benefit to the county because it will allow corrections officers – specifically trained to work in a jail setting – to ensure the custody of detainees.”

The bill would allow any sheriff in the Commonwealth to establish a regional lockup facility for their county. Local police departments could then transfer responsibility for the care and maintenance of detainees to the sheriff from the time of arrest, rather than the time of arraignment.

“This is an important piece of legislation for my community and communities across the Commonwealth,” said Sen. Donnelly. “This bill will also provide better and more efficient access to important services for those in our communities who may need them.”

“The Middlesex Sheriff’s Office is specially-equipped to house and care for inmates safely and with dignity, and it makes sense that they take custody, freeing up our officers to spend more time in the community instead of inside the station, watching a prisoner,” Bedford Police Chief Robert Bongiorno said. “The Sheriff has the extensive training to handle the care of those arrested in the county.”

“Middlesex Regional Lockup is a win-win for everyone in the community. This will build trust and improve safety while freeing up municipal police resources, which are often stretched,” said Arlington Police Chief Fred Ryan. “I very much appreciate the leadership shown by Senator Donnelly and Sheriff Koutoujian on this important public safety issue.”

Because many detainees that are arrested over the weekend cannot be arraigned until the next business day, local police departments struggle over weekends and holidays to properly house these individuals. The delays create a strain on the departments’ budgets and officers’ time, according to Chief Bongiorno.

FORMER CHIEF CHARLIE FEMINO ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT FROM SOMERVILLE POLICE DEPARTMENT
Former Acting Chief to head Public Safety at Endicott College

SOMERVILLE – Former Acting Chief of Police, Charlie Femino, announced last week his intended retirement from the Somerville Police Department, effective September 30, 2014. Femino has accepted the position as Chief of the Campus Safety Division at Endicott College, serving the Beverly, Gloucester, and Boston campuses. Femino had served as Acting Chief of Police in Somerville from December 2013 to September 2014 during a nationwide search for a permanent Police Chief.

“Charlie has been a tremendous asset to our police force, and a true leader in every sense. He has served this City with pride and professionalism, most notably during his ten month tenure as Acting Chief, and we are fortunate to have had Charlie as a member of our team for the past thirty years,” said Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone.
“I want to thank the Mayor, the Board of Aldermen, and my colleagues for the wonderful experience that I have gained, the many friends and professional colleagues that I have made, and the happy and productive years that I spent in the City of Somerville and with the Somerville Police Department,” Femino said. “My time as a Somerville Police Officer has played such an integral role in my life and while I will greatly miss this City, I am excited for this new opportunity in the private sector.”

Femino is a 30-year veteran of the Somerville Police Department, having been promoted through the ranks of Sergeant, Lieutenant, Captain, Deputy Chief, and Acting Chief of Police.

The Inter Agency Mutual Aid Agreement, signed by nearly all of the police chiefs in Middlesex County and joined by chiefs in Norfolk and Essex counties, was the product of a year-old working group of the Middlesex County Chiefs of Police Association.

It is an example of how vital it is, especially in this day and age, to pool our resources and work together to achieve our public safety and law enforcement goals.

The Mutual Aid Agreement allows municipal police departments to enforce the law and work together regardless of invisible boundaries. It improves the quality of life in our communities, and it is already leading to progress in the investigation of property crime across town borders.

The Middlesex Chiefs maintain a close working relationship with the Office of the Middlesex County District Attorney, the county’s top law enforcement official.

At every meeting, we receive updates and engage in a dialog with D.A. Marian T. Ryan and representatives from her office. The regular communication helps foster our relationship with prosecutors, who play an essential role in the criminal justice system.

We also work with D.A. Ryan on a number of key issues including juvenile justice, restorative justice, and the drug problem in our society.

Prior to being named District Attorney, Ryan served as the MDAO’s General Counsel, where she created the county-wide Workplace Safety and Violence Prevention Program, and as Chief of the MDAO’s Elder and Disabled Unit, where she prosecuted a myriad of crimes involving physical and financial abuse of the most vulnerable victims.

A frequent contributor to the work of the non-profit group Middlesex Partnerships for Youth, Marian has been a leader in crime prevention and pretrial diversion programs directed at young people, to ensure that the District Attorney’s Office not only prosecutes the most serious offenders, but also that it acts to prevent crime before it happens. Ryan lectures and leads workshops on the dangers of prescription drug abuse, teen dating violence, anti-bullying, and distracted driving. District Attorney Ryan has created Safe Babies, Safe Kids, an initiative focused on keeping children safe, healthy and well from birth to high school. Working with the county’s 26 college and universities, Ryan developed a bi-annual college consortium for educators, administrators and campus police, focused on campus safety and security, and Title IX compliance.

One of the primary tasks of the Middlesex County Chiefs of Police Association is to bring together municipal chiefs of police in our 54 cities and towns to form a cohesive group and a singular voice in discussions of law, policy, and other important issues.

There are many important issues that come up for discussion on Beacon Hill and on Capital Hill, and these issues can have profound effects on law enforcement.

We also keep up on major court cases. Our work on the historic Inter Agency Mutual Aid Agreement stemmed from two Supreme Judicial Court Decisions: Commonwealth v. LeBlanc (1990) and Commonwealth v. Bartlett (2013).

54 Police Chiefs Sign Historic Accord

Empowers Police to Effectively Respond to Public Safety Emergencies

The Middlesex County Chiefs of Police Association today announced the signing of the Massachusetts Interagency Mutual Aid Agreement, authorized by the General laws of the Commonwealth, which will empowers on-duty police officers in one jurisdiction to respond to public safety emergencies in other participating jurisdictions in certain circumstances.

The historic agreement, to date signed by 51 of the 54 communities in Middlesex County, as well as Wellesley, Lynnfield, and Saugus, establishes a strategic working partnership among the police departments that will provide community benefits in both day-to-day life and during a major incident.

The crux of the agreement is twofold: First, Police Chiefs now have a formal method of requesting immediate mutual aid assistance from neighboring communities during a critical incident or crime in progress. Second, an on-duty police officer, who may be traveling to court for the day or transporting a prisoner, can act if they observe a drunk driver or other unlawful behavior while traveling through another community.

“Police officers are expected to always be police officers, and they should never have to put themselves or others in danger by hastily rushing to stop a reckless driver or wanted felon before the town line,” said Weston Police Chief Steven Shaw, President of the Middlesex County Chiefs of Police Association. “Crime doesn’t stop at the border, and this agreement will help ensure that criminals can’t escape the law by escaping one community.”

The agreement is the product of more than a year of research and work by a special subcommittee of the Middlesex County Chiefs of Police Association, led by Arlington Police Chief Frederick Ryan. The work stemmed from two Supreme Judicial Court Decisions: Commonwealth v. LeBlanc (1990) and Commonwealth v. Bartlett (2013).

In the LeBLanc case, a drunk driver’s case was thrown out because a Natick Police Officer followed the driver, who had been speeding and ran a red light, over the border into Framingham. The case left police with little recourse, under the law at the time.

The Bartlett case, however, held that police departments could establish Inter Agency Mutual Aid Agreements, extending policing powers to neighboring communities. Middlesex is the first county in Massachusetts to sign a county-wide Inter Agency Mutual Aid Agreement.

The agreement also covers nearly every community that the 2014 Boston Marathon will pass through. Major events like the marathon attacks last year and the security efforts for the marathon this year underscore the need for cooperation among different law enforcement organizations.

“Major events in Massachusetts and elsewhere have highlighted the need for police departments to work together more effectively, and these events have shown that we are indeed more effective when we work together,” said Bedford Police Chief Robert Bongiorno, Secretary of the Middlesex County Chiefs of Police Association.

“Working together, across invisible boundaries, is a real step in the right direction,” said Belmont Police Chief Richard McLaughlin, Treasurer of the Association. “I’m proud to sign this agreement. It will make the community safer, and it will keep police officers safe.”

The agreement allows municipal police chiefs to retain command and control of incidents in their communities during incidents. It also requires police officers to notify the commanding officer of the community when they enter to conduct policing activities. The officers will either be requested as mutual aid from the neighboring community, or they may “Self Activate” when they observe or become aware of a violation of the law across the border. The on-duty police officer may exercise their police powers within any community covered under the agreement: to prevent harm to the public, prevent property damage, stopping unlawful behavior, investigating possible criminal activity, increasing the manpower/capabilities of the department, detaining offenders, or enforcing traffic laws.

Of the three remaining departments in Middlesex County, the chiefs of the Waltham and Winchester Police Departments have submitted the agreement to their municipal government for approval. Cambridge has not signed the agreement at this time.